VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova volleyball got back to its winning ways Saturday, sweeping the Butler Bulldogs in straight sets (25-23, 25-22, 25-16) on Alumni Night at Jake Nevin Field House.
Cat Young led the way for Villanova (13-8, 6-4 BIG EAST), totaling a team-best nine kills and six digs with a career-best three aces for a match-high 12.5 points. Abby Harrell added nine kills on .250 hitting while Campbell McKinnon contributed eight terminations and a team-high four blocks.
Alyssa Nelson (16 assists) and Taylor Jakubowski (15 helpers) distributed the ball evenly across the board as six Wildcats tallied more than a quartet of kills, Taylor Lewis and Ozzie Ozonoh each putting up five in addition to Riley Homer's four.
The victory marked Villanova's eighth sweep of the season, the first since Oct. 6 at Xavier and broke the long match streak of the last two weeks.
"It was a great atmosphere tonight and we're happy to get that win in front of our alums," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "We didn't play our cleanest match, but we're glad to be walking out with a victory."
It was a hotly contested opening frame, featuring eight ties and five lead changes. Butler got out to a hot start with leads of 4-0 and 9-4, but a six-point VU stretch leveled the match before the teams exchanged runs. It was knotted at 23-all before the 'Cats used a BU attack error and Young ace for a first set W.
Another even period was on deck in the second, tied at 10-10 before Villanova took six of the next eight to gain command. Butler battled back to make it a one-point frame before a successful Steinbach challenge turned the tides, allowing his side a 25-22 win for a two set edge.
Villanova was the aggressor early in the third, securing an early 10-6 edge and using multiple four and three-point runs to lead by as many as nine en route to a sweep of the match.
With the victory, Villanova draws closer to even in the all-time series against the Bulldogs to now own a 10-12 record versus BU.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats will head on one of their toughest road trips of 2024, traveling to the Midwest for matchups at RV Marquette on Friday and No. 6 Creighton Sunday.
